


Gray Eyes, Brown Eyes

by lesbianreyna



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, i'll add more character tags later, implied sexual stuff later on but probably won't get into too much detail, mentioned percabeth but obvs that relationship isn't going to last long lmao, sorta cheating i guess???, this fandom needs more f/f stuff tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-23 07:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3760312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianreyna/pseuds/lesbianreyna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annabeth Chase isn't the type of girl who kisses other girls in the locker room after track practice—until that's exactly what happens.  Navigating her junior year was difficult enough without having to manage a confusing and secretive relationship with the only girl fast enough to (sometimes) outrun her.  Being discovered would put Annabeth's good girl reputation and Reyna's status as team captain on the line.  But nothing stays a secret forever.</p><p>update 11/25/16: hey so this is probably never getting finished read at your own risk my dude</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1: Races, Vanity Plates, and Decidedly Un-Heterosexual Guilt

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't done a multichapter fic in like a year and a half, and I've been wanting to write some Reynabeth, so here we are. Enjoy!

Annabeth didn’t like to lose.  She especially didn’t like to lose to Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.

“Try harder next time, Chase,” Reyna said, pushing past Annabeth into the locker room.  The rest of the team had already left.  Coach had been holding Annabeth and Reyna late to get ready for the first meet of the season, the two girls being the best runners on the team.

“Please.  It was just one race.  I could outrun you in my sleep,” Annabeth said, wrenching her locker open and relishing in the satisfying clang as the door collided with the next locker over.

“Whatever keeps your ego satisfied,” Reyna said, propping one leg on the bench and bending over to untie her shoe, exposing a thin strip of tan skin at her lower back between the hem of her t-shirt and her shorts.

“This isn’t about ego,” Annabeth said, “It’s the truth.”

They were silent as they changed out of their gym clothes, each staring in opposite directions.

“Prove it,” Reyna said, just as Annabeth kneeled down to lace up her shoes.  She tilted her chin upwards to find Reyna standing over her, smirking.  It made Annabeth feel far more vulnerable than she cared to be, so she stood up and took solace in the fact that she was several inches taller than Reyna.

“Prove what?” Annabeth said, momentarily forgetting what they’d been talking about.  It made her feel stupid.  She hated feeling stupid.  She especially hated feeling stupid in front of pretty girls, girls whose appearances she shouldn’t be taking note of at all.  Annabeth had a boyfriend, and Annabeth was not a cheater.

“Prove it’s the truth.  If you’re going to accuse me of being slower than you, then I want to see some proof, seeing as you certainly didn’t show it during practice today.  Race me out to the parking lot,” Reyna said, with the competitive spark in her eyes Annabeth had grown to know so well.  Reyna pulled her hair out of the braid she kept it up in during practice, letting her dark brown locks cascaded in waves down her shoulders.  Not wanting to be upstaged, Annabeth pulled her hair out of its ponytail and let her blonde princess curls bounce and fall to rest on her shoulders.  Reyna wanted to have great hair game?  Fine.  But Annabeth’s would be better.

“All right.  If you really think you’re up to it,” Annabeth said, though she was a little doubtful of her ability to run in a beat up pair of Converses versus Reyna’s Nikes.

Reyna shouldered her gym bag.  “Well?  What are we waiting for?” she said, and with that she took off, hurdling over the locker room benches and charging through the door into the hallway.

Annabeth decided she’d complain about Reyna’s unfair head start later, when the difference between a win and a loss wasn’t still hanging in the balance.  Annabeth took off after her, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders as she dashed out of the locker room.  She could hear Reyna’s sneakers squeaking on the linoleum floor just out of sight, so Annabeth sped up.

Annabeth almost collided with a terrified looking freshman boy with a fifty-pound stack of books, and she mercilessly pushed past him.  What was he going to do, fight her on it?  She could take him out with one swing.  Not that she ever would, but still.  Annabeth was normally a very nice person.  She’d make up for this later by holding a door for an old lady or something.

Rounding a corner, Annabeth caught a flash of dark skin and even darker hair before Reyna darted out of sight once more.

“Not today,” Annabeth hissed, pushing herself harder.  She hardly ever ran this fast in practice.

“Hey Chase,” Reyna said, halting in the middle of the hallway to gloat as Annabeth rounded another corner.  She had a competitive gleam in her eyes and her hair was sticking to her face.  “Try to keep up,” she said, and once again pushed towards the exit.  The momentary pause was all Annabeth needed to catch up with Reyna, and the two ran side by side for a few intense seconds before Annabeth broke ahead and escaped to the parking lot.

Annabeth let her momentum take her into a patch of grass between the school building and the pavement, where she turned her face up to the sun and laughed, spinning once and spreading her arms wide.

“Nice victory dance,” Reyna snorted, “You should quit running and take up ballet.”

“You’re just bitter because I’m faster than you,” Annabeth said.

“I would have won if I hadn’t stopped to let you catch up,” Reyna said.

“Like I said, bitter,” Annabeth said, “And, for the record, I would have destroyed you if you didn’t have a head start.

Reyna leaned up against the brick wall to catch her breath.  Annabeth realized she was so close, she could smell the perfume Reyna had put on after practice (which, by the way, smelled like roses).  Annabeth remembered that she hadn’t even bothered with deodorant after practice, and probably still smelled like sweat, so she backed up.  “Next time.  Next time, I will absolutely crush you,” she said.

“Is that a promise or a threat?”

“Both.”

Annabeth pretended that the reason she relentlessly picked fights with Reyna was because Reyna got on her nerves, but that was only half the truth.

The other half was the slow smirk that spread across Reyna’s face every once in a while when Annabeth teased her.  The one that sent forbidden butterflies flitting around Annabeth’s insides.  It was terrible and wonderful and confusing all at the same time.

Annabeth was not supposed to feel this way about another girl.

Annabeth had a boyfriend.

And yet…

Reyna ran her hand through her hair, pulling it back from where it stuck to the sweat on her forehead and chest.  She dug around in her duffel bag and pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses.  She could have been a picture straight out of a magazine, a candid of an unintentionally dazzling celebrity on her way home from the gym.

Reyna made Annabeth feel self conscious.  Annabeth didn’t have nice sunglasses, and the only thing her hair did when it was sweaty was frizz up around her temples.  She didn’t have pretty-smelling perfume, she had bags under her eyes, and she was too lazy to even apply makeup most mornings.  Even in the three years she’d been dating Percy, Annabeth had never cared about what she looked like.  Or in the very least, she’d never cared enough to do anything about it.  But now, she wished she could rewind the day to the morning and take the extra ten minutes to look cute.  She made a mental note to pick up some eyeliner and hairspray on her way home.

“Not too bad, Chase,” Reyna said, starting towards her car.  Annabeth followed a safe distance behind.  “Not as good as me, of course.  But not bad,” Reyna said.

“How humble of you.”

“My humility is one of my greatest qualities.”

“And what might the others be?”

“My intellect.  My charm.”  Reyna paused and turned to look at Annabeth.  Annabeth had only ever heard of blue, gray, and green eyes being described as piercing, but Reyna’s mahogany brown eyes could impale solid rock.  “Not to mention how irresistible I am,” she added slowly, letting each syllable roll of her tongue with the languidity of an afternoon in July.

Annabeth had never believed the old saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  Eyes were just eyes.  But when Annabeth made eye-contact with Reyna, she could have sworn Reyna knew exactly what she was thinking.  Irresistible, indeed.  Annabeth looked away, suddenly finding interest in a wad of gum baking in the sunshine of early spring, the first real warm day of the year.

“Rung Earl,” Reyna said, interrupting the silence that had lasted far longer than was comfortable.

Annabeth was grateful for anything that could take her mind off her unfortunate and decidedly un-heterosexual guilt, even if it meant trading it in for confusion.  “Rung Earl?” she repeated.

Reyna nodded towards the back license plate of Annabeth’s dark blue 2007 Honda minivan.  Annabeth had been so caught up in her conversation with Reyna, she hadn’t even realized their cars were parked right next to each other.  It was then that Annabeth realized Reyna was saying “Rung irl”, as in RUNGIRL, the combo on the back license plate of Annabeth’s car.

“ _Run Girl._  So much for that intellect,” Annabeth said.

Reyna shrugged.  “I dunno, Chase.  It looks an awful lot like RUNG IRL to me.  Just a bunch of nonsense letters.”

Annabeth glowered.  “It was a gift from my father.”

“Vanity plates?  How personal.  What a wonderful surprise that must have been on Christmas morning.  ‘Oh Dad, you know me so well.  I am, in fact, a girl who runs!  I love you so much!’”.  Reyna said, in a poor imitation of Annabeth’s voice.

“I don’t sound like that,” Annabeth said, “And I thought it was sweet.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

There was a moment wherein Reyna stared at Annabeth and Annabeth tried to divert her eyes away from Reyna.  Annabeth felt like Reyna was waiting for her to say something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“I have to get going,” Reyna said finally, “Try not to crash those pretty little vanity plates of yours in the meantime, RUNG IRL.”

“I won’t, QPY 2497,” Annabeth said, sneaking a look at the boring standard plates on Reyna’s old Nissan.  Annabeth walked around to the driver’s side of her car and climbed inside.  She watched as Reyna’s car pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.  She tried to ignore how badly she wished they could have stayed together in the parking lot for just a little bit longer.

 


	2. 2: A Chance Encounter

Annabeth Chase made it her policy to always do as was expected of her.  She was a straight-A student and a star athlete.  She was nice to adults and friendly with other teenagers.  She shelved books at the library over the summer when the assistant librarian went on vacation.    She was first chair trumpet in the school’s honors band.  She even showed up to church every Sunday, despite the fact that she was secretly agnostic and found the whole concept of a religion based on a 3,000 year old book a little silly.  Annabeth Chase was what adults would call well rounded and kids would call boring.

It was a good life to lead, even if living up to society’s expectations of a perfect American girl got a little tiresome sometimes.  Whenever Annabeth had a decision to make, it came down to this: “What would society want me to do?”.

Society knew a lot of stuff.  It was smart like that.

Annabeth was pretty sure society would never tell her to start crushing on a girl.  No matter how many TV shows added a token gay couple, no matter how many politicians proclaimed their support for same-sex marriage, society still found gayness to be a little bit squicky.  Society was comfortable in its own heterosexuality, thank you very much.  Gay couples were there to be the lovable butt-of-the-jokes on sitcoms.  Once they stepped off the screen, once they became real people, society got a lot less comfortable.  I don’t have a problem with gays, I just don’t want to see it in public.  Think of the children.

Annabeth had always thought that was a load of bullshit.  Who cared which gender somebody preferred to have sex with?  Not Annabeth.  Of course after expressing this thought to anyone else, and naturally in much more reserved terms, Annabeth was quick to assure them that she was “still straight, but a supporter of gay rights”.

Now that she thought about it, it made her sound a lot like the obnoxious straight boys from school when they hugged each other.  No homo, bro.  Insisting she wasn’t gay every time the topic of LGBT rights came up was basically just one big no homo.  Annabeth was starting to wonder if she had been compensating for something.  Maybe she was, in fact, just a little bit homo.

 _No.  You’re just being crazy now,_ she thought, _I am straight.  I’m probably the most heterosexualily straight person in the entire universe._

_I have a boyfriend._

_And I am absolutely, 100% heterosexual._

_Maybe._

Annabeth stopped pacing for the first time in forty minutes and gripped the windowsill with two hands, locking her arms and letting her head droop down.  “I’m going to drive myself insane,” she muttered.

It is a well-known fact that the best cure for insanity is calling one’s best friend.

So Annabeth dialed Thalia’s number and flopped down on her bed, kicking her legs up towards the ceiling because she was feeling too jittery to sit still.  It took three rings for Thalia to pick up.

“YOU HAVEN’T CALLED ME IN WEEKS, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT?” Thalia shouted into the receiver, and Annabeth swore she nearly went deaf in her right ear.  Thalia and Annabeth had been best friends growing up, before Thalia left for an all-girls’ college in Pennsylvania when Annabeth was a sophomore in high school.

“I’ve been busy,” Annabeth said, “But I need to talk to you.”

Thalia sighed.  “Shoot.  And make it quick.  I have Intro to Psych in fifteen minutes and the chick who sits next to me is almost as gay as she is hot.”  In addition to being Annabeth’s best friend, Thalia happened to be very, very gay.

“I think I might be not-exactly-straight,” Annabeth said, cringing at her shitty wording.  Annabeth could do wonders on English essays, but not so much on phone calls.

Thalia made a noise that sounded like, “HALLELUJAH!” and some additional muffled screaming.  Annabeth was pretty sure she heard Thalia’s phone drop to the floor, too.

When she finally picked up her phone and stopped laughing maniacally, Thalia said with false seriousness, “You should know that I’m currently enamored with Intro to Psych girl, so if you’re coming onto me you should just quit while you have the chance.”

“I’m not coming onto you,” Annabeth assured her, “I’m still going out with Percy.”

“Well, somebody should alert him to your sudden change in sexuality,” Thalia said, “But it’s not my place to meddle.  So who’s the lucky girl?”

“No one.  I’d never cheat on Percy.  I still love him,” Annabeth said.

“No shit.  But there had to be somebody who finally made you realize you were gay as shit, or bisexual as shit as the case may be.  Which, by the way, I totally knew long before you told me.  My gaydar’s been going off on your for years.”  Annabeth wasn’t sure if Thalia was bluffing about the gaydar thing or now, but it made Annabeth’s stomach drop for a moment.  Had she really been that obvious?

Thalia continued, “I need all the details, and quick.  Intro to Psych girl is waiting.”

“It was nobody,” Annabeth lied.

“It had to be somebody.”

“Nope.”

“Is it me?” Thalia said, with whispered urgency.  Then she laughed.

“No!  God, no,” Annabeth said, then added, “You wouldn’t know her.”  It was a mistake.

“All the more reason you should tell me,” Thalia said.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Was it Piper?”

“No!  Jesus.”

“Hazel?”

“Of course not.”

“Was Percy just so bad in bed you decided to turn to girls?”

“Fuck off.”

Thalia went silent for a moment.  Then, she said, “Answer me this: is she straight?”

“I don’t think so.  I mean, I don’t know,” Annabeth said.  Reyna had been a lesbian since anyone could remember.  She’d never had to come out, simply because she’d never pretended to be anything else.  Annabeth had never really cared, up until recently.

“Then quite frankly, I don’t see what the problem is,” Thalia said.

“There are a lot of problems.”

“Well, when you figure out what they are, let me know.  In the meantime, I have class.  Talk to you later,” Thalia said, and hung up.  Annabeth could tell she was pissed.  They usually told each other everything.

For the first time in Annabeth’s life, talking to Thalia just made her more confused.

 

In the mornings, Annabeth ran.  This meant that she had to get up at four thirty in the morning in order to have time to shower before school, which in turn meant that, more often than not, she just decided not to go.  But the morning after the phone call with Thalia, she needed it.

Running helped her clear her head.

Running also made her think about Reyna, which was an unfortunate consequence but ultimately unavoidable no matter what Annabeth did.

Annabeth laced up her running sneakers and crept out into the half-light of the morning.  The clouds hung low, and the crisp smell of dew hung heavy in the air.  It was humid and cold, the omen of rain to come.  Part of Annabeth hoped that meant practice would be canceled, and part of her would have died if that were the case.

Once Annabeth got out onto the sidewalk, she plugged in her headphones.  Listening to music while running may not have been the safest move, but there was no one out on the road this time of morning anyway.  She shuffled her music, and almost didn’t notice the first song that came up until one particular lyric caught her ear.

All you think of lately is getting underneath me

All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me

Of course.  Of course the first song that came up would be a song about sex by a pair of lesbians.

Annabeth was just lucky like that.

She tore the earbuds out and decided to just run without music. She would listen instead to the noises of nature, if you considered suburbia in the morning “nature”.  It was peaceful, in the way that boredom tends to be.

“Chase!  Wait up!”  The voice echoed through the empty streets, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of a pair of running shoes against the concrete.

It was the last person Annabeth needed to see, and yet the only person she wanted to.  Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.

Annabeth pretended she hadn’t heard and kept running like a coward.  It was too early to deal with this.  Annabeth didn’t trust herself not to say something stupid this soon after rolling out of bed.  She was always at her most reckless in the mornings, and Annabeth didn’t like feeling reckless.

The sound of Reyna’s footfalls drew nearer, and Annabeth knew that if she sped up now, Reyna would know something was up.  So she resigned to letting Reyna join her.

“Slow much?” Reyna said, pulling ahead and turning 180 degrees so that she faced Annabeth.  They paused to catch their breath.  Annabeth tried not to pay attention to the way Reyna’s breaths were coming in short, quick bursts, and how unbelievably cute it was.

“I’m just warming up,” Annabeth lied.

“Sure.”  Reyna was far more put-together than Annabeth, with her sunglasses and brand-name workout clothes.  Annabeth had just thrown a sports bra underneath the shirt she slept in and put on a pair of shorts she bought on clearance at Walmart.  Suddenly, she felt quite underdressed.

Annabeth noticed that Reyna had one earbud in, with the other in her hand.  “Running while listening to music isn’t safe, you know,” she said, because she still wasn’t quite sure how to talk to Reyna without being a bitch about it.

“I like to live dangerously.  Also, I can see your earbuds sticking out of your pocket.”

“Yeah, but I’m not listening to anything,” Annabeth said, then cringed inwardly.

Reyna smirked.  “Your comebacks are getting weak, Chase,” she said.

“I can still insult better than you, Arellano,” Annabeth said.

“It’s Avila Ramirez-Arellano,” Reyna corrected.

“If only anyone had the time to say the whole thing,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

“At least I have a real name.  Yours was just made up.  It’s like somebody smashed together ‘Anne’ and ‘Elizabeth’.”

“All names were made up at some point or another.”

“Touche.”  With that, Reyna picked up the pace again, heading on her way.  Annabeth watched her go, and was about to turn back towards home, when Reyna looked over her shoulder and slowed down.  “You coming or not?” Reyna said.

Annabeth blinked back shock.  “Um, no thanks.  I have to go back and shower before school,” she said, panicking so quickly she forgot to say something sarcastic.  She’d only been out of the house for five minutes, and could have stayed out for another fifteen.  Going home was the exact opposite of what Annabeth wanted to do, but she didn’t have a choice.  The more time she spent with Reyna, the harder she fell, and Annabeth was fond of staying on her feet as much as possible.

Reyna shrugged.  “Suit yourself,” she said.  She turned onto the next street and was gone.

Annabeth cursed herself silently for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal for this fic is to post a new chapter as soon as I've finished a rough draft for the one that comes after it. Sometimes that might take three days, other times it might take three weeks ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. Depending on how busy I am, I'm hoping to have chapter 3 up within the next few days. As always, enjoy, and leave a comment and kudos if you like!


	3. Fast Food, Slow Typing

The next three days brought the most rain the state had seen in fifty years. It poured almost nonstop, and brought flooding that drove the people on the coast out of their homes. The storm made national news as “Unexpected Freak Storm Hits East Coast, Worst Flooding in Decades”. The back field of the high school transformed into a small lake and flooded part of the gym, so the school board had no choice but to call off all athletic events until further notice.

It was just Annabeth’s kind of luck.

On the third day, Percy called Annabeth and asked her to meet him at McDonald’s. That was their go-to date spot, since they were both too broke to go anywhere fancier. Annabeth had thought it was sweet and looked forward to going when they first started dating, but now it just felt forced. However, she also didn’t want Percy to know something was up, because she’d die of humiliation if she had to explain her sexual confusion to her _boyfriend_ of all people. So, somewhat reluctantly, she grabbed her bag, put on a raincoat, and drove out in the storm to meet him.

When she arrived, the middle-aged lady who worked at the front counter smiled at her. She and Percy had been going there for so long, most of the employees recognized them and doted on how cute they were. If only they knew what was going on in Annabeth’s head.

Percy and Annabeth were the only two people there, besides the employees. No one wanted to go out with no end to the rain in sight. The isolation made things feel uncomfortably intimate.

Percy greeted her with a quick peck of a kiss, which Annabeth didn’t enjoy nearly as much as she would have a year ago. She sat down across the booth from him and tried to smile. Percy had bought them a twenty-piece box of McNuggets, a large order of fries, and a chocolate milkshake to share. It was the same thing they always had. Annabeth was so sick of it, she vowed never to eat another McNugget as long as she lived once they could afford to eat someplace with more variety. Or once they broke up.

Annabeth used to hate to think about breaking up with Percy. Now, she viewed it with apathy more than anything.

“How’ve you been?” Percy asked. His hair was still wet from swim practice. Varsity swimming was the only sport still practicing, since the pool wasn’t affected by the rain.

“Good,” Annabeth said, hoping beyond all hope that her tone wouldn’t convey how she really felt.

Percy knew her too well. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Annabeth took a bite out of a chicken nugget. The taste turned to cardboard in her mouth and made her sick to her stomach. “I’m okay. I’m just bummed out about practice being cancelled,” she said finally.

Percy nodded. “That sucks. Any idea when it’s starting back up again?”

Annabeth shrugged. “When the back field dries up, I guess. The track itself isn’t underwater, which is good, but it’s impossible to get out there with all the land surrounding it flooded.”

“That sucks,” Percy said again. And then he was kissing her. He tasted like stale fries and McNuggets. It was gross.

Annabeth missed the days when they were best friends, when they were just two sixth graders who liked to chase each other during recess. It was wholly uncomplicated, and there wasn’t so much kissing. Because, really, Percy was a good guy. Annabeth liked him. She loved him, even if it wasn’t in the same way that she used to.

Annabeth hated thinking like that.

There was a part of her that missed being in-romantic-love with Percy. It was simple. It was meant to be. Everyone had known it was going to happen for years, and for a while it felt right.

But now, Annabeth just wished he’d just stop making out with her. She wondered if she should just make an excuse to leave, then felt guilty about it. Percy deserved better. He deserved someone who knew wholeheartedly that they were in love with him.

He didn’t deserve a girl who couldn’t stop thinking about another girl whenever they kissed.

Percy finally pulled away. “You okay?” he asked, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” Annabeth lied (she’d been doing a lot of lying lately), “Why?”

“It’s just that...uh...you know,” Percy stammered, “You didn’t seem that...into it, I guess is what I’m trying to say.”

Annabeth realized too late that she should have tried harder to seem turned on. “Oh. I guess I’m just not in the mood, you know?” Annabeth said. Another lie.

The look on Percy’s face conveyed that he very much _did not_ know. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he said. It was sweet of him to be concerned, but Annabeth wanted more than anything for him to stop.

“I’m fine. Really,” she said, and forced a smile.

A slow, sly grin crept across Percy’s face, and he lowered his voice. “Well, you know, my mom’s working late tonight. My house is empty. Maybe you’d be more in the mood if I—”

“I’ve actually got a lot of homework to do,” Annabeth interrupted hastily, her face burning bright red.

Percy’s smile faltered. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine, really. I’d love to, but I just have a ton of work to do.” It was yet another lie.

Annabeth had had sex with Percy before. It was the one caveat to her do-as-expected rule. Good girls were supposed to be chaste, but they were also supposed to keep their boyfriends happy. At first, it had been what Annabeth wanted, too. Lately, though, it just seemed like a chore.

“Nah, it’s fine. I get it,” Percy said, but Annabeth could tell he was disappointed. She’d been using that excuse for weeks. She figured she’d have to bite the bullet and do it soon before he started getting suspicious, but today she just wanted to go home.

“I should probably get going, too. I’ve got a lot of math homework,” Percy said. Percy never did his homework. He was just as much a liar as Annabeth.

Annabeth noticed three McNuggets and a handful of fries left on the tray when Percy stood up to throw away the trash. Neither of them had even touched the milkshake. They usually ate everything.

Percy kissed her goodbye, but it was passionless and cold. An obligation, not an act of love. He got into his car and left.

Annabeth sat alone in her car, listening to the rain pounding on the roof and letting it drown out the sounds of the passing cars. She turned on the radio for a minute, then turned it off again. She was driving on autopilot, looking where she was going so as not to crash but not really paying attention. She’d never felt quite so alone. Annabeth had now hurt the feelings of her two best friends, Thalia and Percy, all over some girl who didn’t even know how head-over-heels Annabeth was for her.

  


The one thing Annabeth hadn’t been lying about was that she had a lot of homework. She was halfway through an hour’s worth of precalc problems when she got a text from a number she didn’t recognize.

_What was the English homework?_

Annabeth figured it was a wrong number, but she asked who it was just in case. The answer, which came nearly five minutes later, nearly made her heart stop.

_It’s Reyna._

It was either fate or punishment from God that Annabeth kept having to interact with Reyna. With shaking fingers, Annabeth asked how Reyna had gotten her number.

_I asked Piper._

Annabeth found it kind of cute that Reyna typed with proper grammar, even on the tiny keyboard of her smartphone. Annabeth had never met anyone else who did that. Unfortunately, it meant Reyna took forever to type. Annabeth asked Reyna why she had had Piper’s number in the first place, rather jealous that Reyna apparently talked to Piper but not to her outside of practice.

_I make it a habit to keep the numbers of cute girls. Now will you please just tell me what the homework was?_

Annabeth typed up the homework assignment and was about to hit send, when a reckless thought crossed her mind. It would be a very, very stupid thing to do, and if Reyna interpreted it the wrong way, it could go very, very wrong. If Annabeth wasn’t feeling like shit, she might have had the common sense not to do it. But Annabeth did feel like shit, and decided that maybe a little recklessness wouldn’t be so bad, so she added, _If you make it a habit to keep the numbers of cute girls, what does that say about me?_ Annabeth hoped it didn’t come off as too flirty, since that would be cheating on Percy. Annabeth didn’t cheat. But she also kind of hoped it made Reyna think about Annabeth in the context of “cute girls”, because even if Annabeth couldn’t have Reyna, a selfish part of her wanted Reyna to want her in the same way she wanted Reyna.

It took nearly six minutes for Reyna to reply, which was forever in texting time. Annabeth couldn’t tell if she was thinking or if she was just a really slow typer.

The eventual response wasn’t exactly what Annabeth wanted to hear.

_It means that you’re the only person I know from my English class._

Annabeth’s insides twisted and she felt her face growing hot. Of course Reyna didn’t see her in that way. All Annabeth had accomplished was making a fool of herself. But the only chance she had at saving face was to text back, which would have been great if Annabeth could think of something to say. Eventually, she went with a tried-and-not-so-true classic, _Lol_.

Annabeth wasn’t sure that Reyna would text back after her rather pathetic reply, but she did.

_How articulate._

Annabeth could feel the sarcasm even through the filter of the phone, but she’d rather be made fun of for her communication skills than for what she’d said earlier. She didn’t feel much less humiliated, but she felt somewhat relieved.

It was several hours later, and Annabeth was climbing into bed for the night when she heard her phone go off. She picked it up off her nightstand and saw one last text from Reyna.

_I suppose you’re not not-cute._

Annabeth smiled, even though it wasn’t much of a compliment. She buried her face into her pillow and giggled. Annabeth almost never giggled. It made her feel warm on the inside. She thought about texting Reyna back, but it was getting late and she was apt to make a fool of herself again. She did, however, decide to adopt Reyna’s policy of always saving the numbers of cute girls. She wasn’t sure when she’d have another chance to use Reyna’s number, but she hoped it would be soon.


	4. 4: Almost

“Looks like you’re a little out of shape,” Reyna said.

It had been one week since the rain that turned the back field into a lake. It was the first practice since the flooding subsided, and Annabeth was really wishing she had just stayed in bed. They were running four laps around the track as a warm-up, and Annabeth wanted to curl up in the grass and go to sleep.

“Shut up. I’m sick,” Annabeth said, her voice thick with congestion.

“I can tell. You look awful,” Reyna said, pulling ahead. Regardless of her present condition, Annabeth was not going to be left behind. She willed her legs to go a little faster, even though her whole body ached.

Reyna looked at Annabeth out of the corner of her eye, then angled her vision forward again. “You sound like you’re about to pass out,” she said.

“It’s just a little cold,” Annabeth wheezed.

“Right,” Reyna said. She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you stay home and take care of yourself?” Her voice was a bit softer than before. Then she tried to recover by adding, “At least then I wouldn’t have to put up with your constant wheezing. It’s annoying as shit.”

“And miss the first practice in forever? Not a chance,” Annabeth said, laughing.

“You could at least pace yourself better.”

“You mean go slow? You’d never let me live it down,” Annabeth said, inhaling sharply as a stitch formed in her side. She placed one hand on her ribs and kept running.

Reyna cracked a smile. “You’re right about that,” she said.

In the next moment, two things happened at once:

The first was that Coach called out, “Chase, Arellano, slow down. You’ll wipe yourselves out before warm-up ends.”

The second was that Annabeth’s foot caught in the ridge between the track and the grass surrounding it.

Annabeth went down fast, landing on top of her ankle in a puddle. Mud splattered everywhere—her hair, her eyes, and all over her clothes. She swore under her breath. Reyna stood over her, still on the track, like she wasn’t sure whether she should keep running or wait for Annabeth. Annabeth kept swearing, spitting curses like an R-rated movie.

“Watch your mouth, Chase,” Coach shouted, jogging over from the opposite side of the track. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s my ankle,” Annabeth muttered, spitting mud into the grass beside her and trying to stand up. “I’m fine. It’s probably just bruised.” She took a few hesitant steps, and each one sent knives of pain up her leg.

“Arellano, take Chase to the nurse,” Coach said, as if Annabeth’s injury was a personal annoyance.

“But I’m fine!” Annabeth insisted.

“Why me?” Reyna said. Annabeth glared at her.

“Because you clearly are not fine,” Coach said, pointing to Annabeth, “And it’s your duty as team captain to make sure your teammates are okay,” she said, jabbing a finger at Reyna. “When the nurse tells you you’re okay to keep running, you can come back out. You can clean up in one of the locker room showers if you need to,” she continued.

Reyna tensed up her jaw like she wanted to argue, but kept her mouth shut. She looped her arm underneath Annabeth’s shoulders so suddenly Annabeth forgot to be embarrassed about it.

“I don’t need help,” Annabeth said, which she realized after the fact was a stupid thing to say when a cute girl had her arm around you.

“Yes, you do. Come on,” Reyna said, sighing in exasperation. Annabeth awkwardly shifted her weight against Reyna and hobbled towards the school.

When they were a safe distance away and the team could be heard running again, Reyna spoke.

“Did you have to go and make such a scene back there?” she said.

“Excuse me for falling and hurting myself. I’m sorry for being such a drama queen,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

Reyna let loose a smile—it was the genuine kind that Annabeth so rarely got to see. “Maybe you shouldn’t have fallen then,” Reyna said. She looked up at Annabeth out of the corners of her eyes, then quickly looked away when Annabeth met her eyes.

“You okay?” Annabeth said.

“I probably caught whatever you have,” Reyna said, and although she tried to sound annoyed, Annabeth felt a smug satisfaction in the way she sounded almost embarrassed.

  


Annabeth’s ankle wasn’t throbbing quite so hard by the time they got into the locker room, but she still had to clean the mud off of herself. Reyna helped her over to her locker.

Annabeth opened up her locker and cursed. “I don’t have a change of clothes,” she said. “I mean, I could change back into my school clothes, but I wouldn’t be able to run again.”

“You can’t run anyway unless you get the nurse’s permission,” Reyna pointed out.

Annabeth waved her off. “I’m fine. We’ll just say that the nurse said I was good to go.”

“Who says I’m going to back you up? I’m the team captain. I’m not supposed to lie,” Reyna teased.

“You’re not going to actually make me go see the nurse, are you?” Annabeth said, slamming her locker shut.

Reyna shrugged. “We’ll see,” she said. Reyna stepped across the locker room to her own locker and pulled out an extra t-shirt and a pair of shorts. “You can wear these,” she said, tossing them to Annabeth, “I always keep extras.”

“Thanks,” Annabeth said, catching them and walking over to the line of showers. Something about wearing Reyna’s clothes felt wrong, but also kind of thrilling. She set them down outside a shower stall and shut herself inside. Reyna’s sneakers squeaked against the floor tiles, and Annabeth watched through the crack in the stall as Reyna sat down a few feet away. She faced away from the stall, which Annabeth was grateful for. The last thing she needed was Reyna catching a glimpse of her naked body. Or maybe it was exactly what she needed. Annabeth couldn’t tell anymore.

The only time Annabeth had used one of the school showers was during the swimming unit in gym, to wash off the chlorine before her next class. Then, she’d been able to leave her swimsuit on while she cleaned up. This time, there was no swimsuit to leave on, and she couldn’t very well leave her bra and panties on unless she wanted to be soaked for the rest of the day. Stripping down in the locker room, with Reyna humming to herself just outside the stall, seemed obscene. It made Annabeth sick to her stomach, but she didn’t exactly have a choice. So she peeled every last muddied piece of fabric from her body and tossed it over top of the stall.

Once she was mostly clean and a lot less muddy, she shut off the water. “Don’t look,” Annabeth ordered Reyna.

“I won’t,” Reyna said. Annabeth could practically hear the eyeroll in her voice.

Annabeth slowly opened the door and crept out, butt-naked, to grab the clean clothes Reyna had given her from the floor next to the stall. Reyna, as promised, was still looking in the other direction. Annabeth swiftly returned the stall and shut the door behind her.

“You almost done?” Reyna asked, as Annabeth pulled her sports bra over her head.

“Mm hm,” Annabeth mumbled, cautiously taking Reyna’s shirt in her hands. It smelled like the fancy kind of laundry detergent Annabeth’s dad was too cheap to buy. It felt weird putting it on, but it fit okay. It had the logo of some band Annabeth had never heard of printed on the front.

“Hurry up,” Reyna said, exasperated. Annabeth quickly pulled on the shorts and stepped out of the stall.

“Thanks for letting me borrow these,” Annabeth said, tugging at the edge of the t-shirt.

“Yeah, whatever. Is your ankle doing better?” Reyna said.

Annabeth lifted up her hurt leg and rolled her foot in a circle. “I can walk on it, at least,” she said.

“But can you run?” Reyna said.

“That might prove to be a bit of a problem,” Annabeth conceded.

“Then you’re not going back out,” Reyna decided. She sat down on the bench nearest her locker and crossed her arms.

“Excuse me?” Annabeth said, “Since when do you get to make decisions for me?” Reyna was probably right, of course, but that didn’t mean Annabeth had to like it.

“Since I’m team captain. I’m making an executive decision,” Reyna said.

“Coach said that if the nurse told me I was okay to go out, I could go out,” Annabeth said.

“And I’m saying, you’re not going back out today. You’re already sick, you don’t need a twisted ankle too,” Reyna said.

“You’re not my mother.”

“No, but I’m your friend.”

Annabeth’s mouth gaped open and her eyebrows shot up. She quickly tried to return to a normal expression so she didn’t look completely stupid. “Friend?” she said, “Is that so?”

Reyna rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid,” she said, her smile disappearing.

Annabeth smiled and sat down on the bench across from Reyna’s, propping her feet up next to the other girl. “You’ve never called me a friend before.” Annabeth wasn’t sure where this newfound confidence was coming from, but she hoped it would never leave.

“What exactly are you getting at, Chase?”

“I’m just saying, it’s uncharacteristic of you.”

“Then I guess you’ve still got a lot to learn about me,” Reyna said.

It was then that Annabeth noticed that she had been leaning closer to Reyna, and Reyna closer to her. Annabeth knew that she should have backed up. She should have stopped what she knew was happening before it could even begin.

But Annabeth didn’t want to stop.

“I guess I do,” Annabeth said, near a whisper. Reyna leaned forward the last few inches until their foreheads were resting against each other. Reyna was wearing that smile that Annabeth found so irresistible, and her hair was tickling Annabeth’s nose, and—

Percy.

Annabeth shot to her feet, her chin connecting painfully with Reyna’s forehead. She swore and stumbled backwards, away from Reyna. Annabeth had a boyfriend. Annabeth was not a cheater. It was the mantra she had been repeating to herself for weeks, and today it had almost failed her.

Reyna looked surprised, then hurt, then embarrassed, all in the span of five seconds. She stood up and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I should get going,” she said, stoic and businesslike.

“Reyna, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lead you on, or make you think something was going to happen, or…” Annabeth trailed off, not really sure what to say. She didn’t want to make it worse.

Reyna was already heading for the door. “It’s fine. Forget it ever happened,” she said.

Annabeth sat alone in the locker room for the rest of practice, searching for the words that would make things okay again.


End file.
